Broncos coach John Fox said earlier in the week that his team has re-opened contract negotiations with star cornerback Champ Bailey, who would be an unrestricted free agent with a new collective bargaining agreement between the league owners and players union.

John Elway, the Broncos’ new front-office boss, reiterated the team’s desire to get a deal done with the 10-time Pro Bowler.

“”We’ve been working with Champ Bailey’s representative (Jack Reale) this week on a new contract, which is an important priority for us,” Elway tweeted today. “”Our conversations have been constructive and we’ll continue those talks in the hopes that we can reach an agreement.”

And then, to stamp the team’s position, Elway typed: “”We want Champ to finish his Hall of Fame career as a Denver Bronco.”

Mike Klis has been with The Denver Post since 1998, after working 13 years with the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Major League Baseball was Klis' initial passion. He started covering the Colorado Rockies after Coors Field was approved for construction in August 1990.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times. She has reported regularly on the Broncos since joining the staff.

A published author and award-winning journalist, Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. He previously worked on the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winners of two Pulitzer Prizes for their Hurricane Katrina coverage.